A special spiker

Mark HazelwoodPublished: November 13, 2006 12:00AM

By MARK HAZELWOOD
T-G Sports Writer
WEST SALEM Growing up the only daughter of a volleyball coach, Northwestern sophomore Kara Koch was influenced at a young age to become the player she has become today.
It was Koch's mother, Cheryl, who also helps coach her in Junior Olympic volleyball out of Wooster, who got her interested in playing.
"When I was little, she used to pass me balls all the time and I'd hit it around just for fun," Koch said. "I was always around volleyball growing up, and it just took off from there."
It was that developed hitting that has helped Koch earn several honors in just two varsity seasons, including the 2006 Times-Gazette Player of the Year.
No question its Koch's powerful hitting that draws everyone's attention to her talents, as opposing players, and even line judges and fans, have had the misfortunate of feeling the strength of each spike at one time or another.
"It just comes from practicing," Koch said of her hitting. "There wasn't anything special or different, it just came about naturally and through practice."
Koch made an immediate impact as a freshman last season, putting down 472 kills on a Husky team that finished 16-10 overall and finished district runner-up to Wayne County Athletic League rival Smithville. The 472 kills unofficially is the seventh-highest total in a single season in OHSAA history.
At the end of the season, she was named first-team WCAL and the Player of the Year in District IV Division III. That then helped land her on the Division III All-Ohio honorable mention team.
This past season, Koch stepped up to an even higher level, hammering home 527 kills, which is the fourth-highest total unofficially in a single season in OHSAA history. Her 999 kills in two years rank 16th in OHSAA history, and just 638 kills over the next two seasons stands between Koch and the career record for kills by Rachel Hagerty from Defiance (2002-05).
"I don't really look into the statistics that much right now," Koch said. "But a lot of that has been able to happen because my teammates were able to put me in good position to get a lot of kills. To spike, you need good passes, and this season, we were able to pass really well."
On top of all the hitting, Koch also has recorded 221 digs in each of the past two seasons, and also showed her all-around game with solid numbers across the board including 194-of-201 serve receiving (97 percent), 159-of-162 passing (98 percent), 273-of-288 serving (95 percent) with 34 aces and 86 blocks that went for points or side outs.
It was those numbers that landed Koch on the first team WCAL, first team District IV Division III and Division III All-Ohio third team.
It is that kind of balance in a player that tends to spoil Northwestern coach Veronica Briggs.
"Kara is a coach's dream," she said. "She hits with authority and commands respect when she steps onto the court. She is not one-dimensional as many other dominant hitters tend to be, and she never left the floor on any rotation this season. And the really good news is she was only a sophomore, so it is going to be exciting to see how she will grow as a player over the next two years for us."
The Huskies finished the 2006 season with a 22-3 overall record, with two losses to Smithville (26-1) and a loss in the district semifinals to Orrville (12-14). Koch believes her coach's personality helps a great deal.
"She keeps things loose," she said of Briggs. "She makes practice fun, which is a big help because she doesn't want us out there if we aren't having fun. It is a very relaxed atmosphere."
Despite all the accolades, Koch and the rest of her teammates still need to attain goals of beating out Smithville for a league title and getting past the district tournament. Despite losing seniors Melissa Ogden, Jenessa Rice and Rachel Staggs, the expectations at Northwestern are going to be high.
"It's definitely going to hurt losing our three seniors," Koch said. "They were a big part of our team, so even though we have a lot coming back, we are going to have to replace their leadership as well as their production. We have to work even harder in practice to beat Smithville, and I think the biggest thing we have to work on is to not get intimidated by some of the teams out there."
With Koch anchoring the middle for the next two seasons, the only intimidation may come from the opposition.
Or line judges and fans that can't get out of the way fast enough.
n Contact Mark Hazelwood, sports writer, at 419-281-0581, ext. 255, or mhazelwood@times-gazette.com.